Gluten free Madras Curry Pie.

I made this lovely spicy pie for my hubby Jason’s birthday last week as he loves a nice curry and pie combined into one. Since discovering the gluten free pastry of my dreams, I have become all enthused again about pies and their fillings.
Make the pastry first as it loves a long spell in the refrigerator to rest. This recipe can be found, plus many more mouth watering GF recipes on the blog gfandme.com and is called Mary’s Magnificent Pastry. I don’t have any photos of me making it as I thought of this blog just as I parcelled it up for the fridge resting time😊.

Pastry ingredients
2 cups GF gluten free flour, I used Bobs Redmill all purpose GF flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 cup of butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup sour cream
Beaten egg and dash of milk to brush over pie before baking.

Pulse the flour and xanthan gum powder in a food processor, add the butter and pulse till the dough forms pea sized lumps. Add sour cream and pulse till dough comes together. If you don’t have a food processor just rub the cold butter into the combined flour and xanthan gum with your fingertips and mix in sour cream then get in there with your hands and gently work it all together into a ball 😄.
When combined into a nice ball split into 2 smaller balls, pat down into a thick discus shape and wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 4 hours, overnight is even better.

Now for the Madras curry which has to be about the easiest one I’ve ever made from scratch.

Ingredients for curry
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chilli powder (recipe says this is optional)
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 kilogram chuck steak (I used a whole bolar blade roast I cut up) cut into 2.5 cm cubes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup of beef stock

Combine the coriander, cumin, turmeric, pepper, chilli, garlic, ginger and lemon juice in a bowl to form a paste. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat, add half the beef and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl and repeat process with the rest of the beef.
Reduce heat to medium. Add spice paste and cook for 1 minute. Return beef and accumulated juices and stir till well coated with spice paste. Add tomato paste and stock.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until beef is tender.
Remove lid and cook uncovered for a further 15 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
Put aside to cool completely.

To make the pie.
Take your pastry out of the refrigerator and roll one disc out to about five millimetres in thickness to the size of your pie dish. It rolls out really well from cold without much difficulty.

Add your cold curry to your pastry base and distribute evenly. Roll out your second disc of pastry to the same 5 millimetre thickness and place on top. Glaze with the beaten egg and milk mix, or just beaten egg white if you like.

Bake pie in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius till nicely browned.

Yes, this looks rather too browned but I can assure you it wasn’t burnt and it tasted so good 😄. We like our curry pie with a nice fruity sauce on top and I reckon a fruity chutney would go down a treat with this.
The curry would be lovely on its own as well with some rice and roti or butter naan. Hmmm I think I need curry for tea!
Bon apetit!

Indian Pilau Rice

Indian Pilau Rice

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups Basmati Rice

15ml oil (I use Peanut oil)

1 small onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 teaspoon Fennel seeds

1 tablespoon of Sesame seeds.

½ teaspoon ground Turmeric

1 teaspoon ground Cumin

¼ teaspoon salt

2 whole Cloves

4 Cardamom pods, lightly crushed

5 black peppercorns, left whole

500ml container of Chicken stock or consommé (or vegetable stock to make it truly vegetarian)

Fresh coriander to garnish

Wash rice well and leave to soak in water for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan, add onion and garlic and fry gently for 5-6 minutes until softened, not browned.

Stir in the fennel, sesame seeds, turmeric, cumin, salt, cloves, cardamom pods and peppercorns and fry for about a minute. Drain the rice well, add to pan and stir-fry for a further 3 minutes.

Pour over the chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then cover, reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for 20 minutes without removing the lid, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and leave to stand 2-3 minutes. Fork up the rice, garnish with coriander and transfer to a warmed dish to serve.

This one is for Liz and anyone else who would like a nice side dish to a spicy chicken or fish (or whatever really :D) dish or just as a nice vegetarian supper on it’s own. Turn the heat off as soon as 20 minutes is reached and let it sit off the heat for a few minutes. The sesame seeds can sometimes stick if left too long cooking.

Bon appetit!

Gozleme of Lamb,mint, fetta and spinach.

Here is the yummiest snack/meal I’ve made in recent times. As my partner is gluten intolerant, I’ve just substituted the normal Self Raising flour for Orgran brand gluten free SR Flour. Give it a try!
This recipe serves 4 depending on your hunger 😉

Ingredients 200gm plain yoghurt (natural, unsweetened)
250gm Self Raising flour (substitute for gluten free here)
1 tablespoon olive oil
150gm minced lamb
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
a pinch of ground cumin
a pinch of chilli flakes
a pinch of dried mint
4 tablespoons of tomato juice (I used Passata)
50gm baby English spinach
100gm Fetta, crumbled
8 fresh mint leaves, torn
olive oil for frying
50gm butter, melted (optional)

Beat the youghurt and a pinch of salt in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually add flour until it is a stiff dough, then knead on a lightly floured bench till it is soft and only slightly sticky. Transfer to an oiled bowl and leave, covered for 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the lamb with a pinch of salt and pepper until browned. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic, cumin, chilli flakes and tomato juice. Cook for another minute or until dry. Turn off the heat and leave to cool, then drain if needed.
On a floured surface, split the dough into four equal sized balls. Roll each ball into a 30cm circle. Place a quarter of the spinach over half of each circle, then sprinkle with a quarter of the fetta, then add the lamb and mint leaves and season. Fold the dough over and seal the edges with a fork.
Preheat a barbecue hotplate or large frying pan. Brush one side of each Gozleme with olive oil and cook until the base is golden. Brush the top with olive oil, turn and cook until golden.
Brush with melted butter, cut into four pieces (or two 🙂 ) and serve with a pinch of sea salt and lemon wedges if liked. Would also be good with an ice cold beer if your that way inclined.

These are so yummy and for a little bit of effort, you get a huge amount of flavour and enjoyment.
Enjoy!